Soundtrack for "Insurgent"

          I'm reading "Insurgent" by Veronica Roth. Last year I read "Divergent"and thought it was pretty good. "Insurgent" the movie was also really satisfying. I was really disappointed by this movie's soundtrack, especially because "Divergent" had such a good soundtrack with many great artists like Ellie Goulding. In this post I'm going to create my own soundtrack based on themes and events in the book.

           1. Fighter- Christina Aguilera: Amazing. This song  really portrays Tris' refusal to give up and her willingness to fight for what she thinks is right. I also think it shows how even though Jeanine is trying to get Tris, she doesn't let Jeanine get to her. This song would also work if you're describing Tobias. His dad beating him only made him stronger. Instead of being the coward he used to be, in "Insurgent" he isn't afraid to stand up to his dad and let's him know how it felt.  
Fighter: Christina Aguilera

            2.  Angel With A Shotgun- The Cab: I think this song shows just how much Tris and Four are wiling to risk for each other. Together they run away from Dauntless rebels, together they fight Jeanine,  together they find out life changing secrets and escape from the city. Both Tris and Tobias (aka Four) are willing to risk their lives so that the other goes unharmed. They're "Angels" because they are fighting for what's right not what others believe. One part of the book that fits this song the most is when Tris and Tobias are riding in a train into the city. While in the car they encounter the Factionless and the Factionless are ready to attack. Tris and Four prepare to fight, not to defend themself but to defend one another. Four didn't even have to get involved in the war but he started fighting for Tris without question.
Angel With A Shotgun: The Cab

           3. Big Girls Cry- Sia: Flawless. Not only is this a great song, it also effortlessly describes Tris. While Tris acts tough and okay, she's actually heartbroken over her parents and the fact that she killed not only her best friend's boyfriend but also her own friend. With a war brewing she doesn't really have time to grieve over the people she lost, so she tries to avoid the topic and doesn't want to tell anyone what happened. The truth comes out while she's on Truth Serum in Candor. Candor leader, Jack Kang, has her and Tobias put on it to prove their innocence, in front of the entire Candor and remaining Dauntless population. After Tris' secret is revealed she feels so alone because her best friend can't even look at her and Four can't relate to what she's going through.
Big Girls Cry: Sia

             4. Haunt- Bastille: Tris' brother Caleb was sided with Erudite, the faction that is responsible for starting the war. However at the beginning of the book Caleb is allied with Tris and Tobias and Tris and Caleb are finally getting back to the relationship they'd had before they switched factions. When Tris and Four go to Candor, Caleb reunites with the Erudite. The ironic part of the story is that Caleb is part of the team that is in charge of executing Tris.  When she finally does turn herself into Erudite she is nothing less that flabbergasted at the sight of Caleb. Even though she shouldn't feel anything for her brother, because after all he's in charge of killing her, he still haunts her. She can't figure out why Caleb would side with the group of people that their parents have always hated. When she's left alone in a cell there's nothing stopping her from thinking about Caleb and the choices he made.
Haunt: Bastille

              5. Let Her Go- Passenger: Tobias knew from the moment Tris jumped from the net that he's cared for her. He stood by her even in her darkest times. It was never a question of if Tobias loved Tris; everyone knew he did, even himself. What he didn't realize was how unimportant his life would be without her. When she snuck out to sacrifice herself to Jeanine Tobias was distraught. Life wasn't even worth living to him if she wasn't there with him. It was unimaginable. I love this song because it talks about how you don't know how much love someone until they're gone.  I think that while Tobias had always known he loved Tris he didn't realize exactly how much he loved her until she was gone. Tobias storms into Erudite determined to get Tris out. With a little help from an enemy and paralysis serum Four manages to get Tris out without Jeanine knowing that she was gone, let alone alive. This part of "Insurgent" really shows Four's dedication to Tris and strengthens the already strong-although sometimes unstable-relationship they have, which I think is what Passenger is implying in this song.
Let Her Go: Passenger

              6. Breathe- Taylor Swift (Feat. Colbie Caillat): Even though Tris and Tobias love each other they still have fights and end up practically breaking up a few times. Tris almost breaks up with him because she found out that Tobias has known about his mom being alive for a year, but didn't mention it to Tris once until she met Evelyn. Four almost breaks up with Tris because he can't keep dating someone who is so willing to put their life in danger. He doesn't want to risk being in love if the person is just going to die. Taylor Swift's song is talking about how even though a couple is broken up, they still care about each other a lot and are struggling to let each other go. I think the reason Tris and Tobias never broke up was because while they get angry at each other they can't stand being without each other. They can't live without the other. They're the rock that keeps the other one grounded.
Breathe: Taylor Swift (feat Colbie Calliet)

               7. The Weight of Living Part 1- Bastille: (another one sorry) One of the main reasons Tris freely goes to Erudite is because she wants to die. She can't deal with all of her burdens. The weight of living had blinded her from how life still has things worth living for. Once in her death room she realizes that she's not ready to die. She still has things she wants to live for and things she wants to accomplish. She needs to live for her friends and for her faction and for her divergence and most importantly for Tobias. By the time that she's rescued she's come to terms with her parents and Will's death and she is ready to accept them. By getting rid of that albatross she is able to enjoy life more than she had previously been before. She can now fight whole heartedly for what she believes in.
The Weight of Living Part 1: Bastille

               These are just some of the songs I've enjoyed listening to while reading "Insurgent". I think that music has a really big impact on the tone and overall messages of a book. I feel like these songs touch on some of the common trends found in the book. I think that these songs fit better than some of the songs on the actual soundtrack, because as I said I was distraught over the music on the "Insurgent" soundtrack. I believe that these songs have a great impact on the book, especially while reading.

Thematic statement for "The Help"

           One life changing story. Throughout the book, "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett, you experience loyalty and betrayal and truths and lies and tears and smiles and conflict and resolutions. There are many ideas you can pick up from this book because it is such an epiphany and hits really adjacent to home. Some people say it's about friendship, some people say it's about revenge, some people say it's about education, and some people even say it's about working together to accomplish a colossal goal. In my opinion, I think that the theme statement behind this book is that the color of your skin and your background don't matter. Everyone has the right to equality.

          There are a few quotes in this novel that I find very pivotal. One of them is towards the end of the book and it's talking about how Skeeter's help has a white daughter. When Skeeter's mom finds out she's actually a Negro's daughter trying to act like a white lady she gets mad. On page 427 it states: "when I thought she was white, I treated her fine and dandy."  I feel like this says a lot about our communities and how they used to behave. When Mrs. Phelan thought she was white, there was no problems at all between the two of them, but as soon as the truth came out Mrs. Phelan now hates Lulabelle even though she's done nothing to earn that hate. She's still the same person that she was before people perceived that she was indeed a Negro.
       
           Another quote I find memorable is at a part in the novel where Skeeter's book has already been published with every help's stories. "Wasn't that the point of the book? For women to realize, We are just two people. Not that much separates us. Not nearly as much as I thought"(page 492). Skeeter's reflection of her book is really self-explanatory and does a really good job of capturing the overall theme of the book. I believe that it's this revelation that makes us as humans seem so appalling. It's horrifying to realize that our ancestors thought that just because a person was a different skin color they should be treated awfully. Thankfully now people have come to accept the difference in skin color.

           A must read. If you glance at nothing else this should be the one book you make an effort to read. "The Help" has a tenacious and compelling message about the treatment of others. It will make you feel remorseful that people just like you treated others that way. At the same time it will make you feel jubilant because this book proves that there were people out there trying to do the right thing even though it was very costly. Historic figures like Martin Luther King, who by the way is mentioned in the book, were extremely dauntless and willing to die for what they believed in. I find this very inspirational and apparently so did Kathryn Stockett as "The Help" portrays cleverly.

As you can see most people refuse to be involved with the help, while Skeeter isn't afraid to interact with them.

   

The Best Thing About my Book

   I'm reading "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett and I think it is a very enjoyable book. It's about Jackson, Mississippi in the 1960s and the separation between the Negros and white people. The black people are the maids for the white people, also known as the help. The story follows Aibileen, a maid who works for the Leefolts (mainly watching their daughter Mae Mobley), Minny, a back talking maid who works for the Footes, and Skeeter, a non-average white lady who cares about the help. This book has a very interesting and intriguing plot line making it really hard to put down. There's one thing about the book that makes it different from most books.

   "The Help" has three different view points, Aibileen, Minny, and Skeeter. I love that you get to read about each of these lady's struggles. One chapter will be of Aibileen taking care of Mae Mobley and doing everyone of Mrs. Leefolt's commands. Then the next chapter you could have Minny trying to figure out what is up with Celia Foote, while taking care of her children and trying not to get fired due to her sass. Finally you can read about Skeeter, and her mom bugging her about having a job as a journalist. She also deals with boy drama and being different from the rest of her friends because she actually cares about the help. While reading you follow all three of them while they produce a book that talks about what it's really like to work for a white lady, which has to remain a secret because people would go ballistic if they found out about it. I'm really happy that in the movie they decided to keep the three point of view because I believe that without it the story wouldn't be as great as it is.

Fahrenheit 451 Theme Handout

Theme: People should take action rather than watch a society falter and crumble.

Handout by: Alise Cheeseman, Devin Fish, Elizabeth Atkins, Collin Aldrich, Sam Engelbert, Lily Carroll (Bell 5)

Events in the Story that Support this Claim:

1. Montag talks to Clarisse and realizes he is not happy in life.  
2. Montag goes to set a house on fire, steals a book, and watches the woman take action by staying in the house with the books while it is burning down.  
3. Montag begins to question the purpose of books and his society.
4. Montag gets sick and Beatty comes to talk him, bringing a warning about books.
5. Montag tells Mildred about the secret books and they begin to read them.
6. He takes action by visiting Faber, a man he met previously who knew about books.
7. Faber and Montag make a plan of action.  Montag uses a hearing device to communicate with Faber.
8. He goes to the firehouse, and learns his house is the next one to be burned down.  
9. Montag kills Beatty and escapes to Faber.
10. Faber and Montag make another plan because the government (and the Hound) is now chasing Montag.
11. He escapes to the wilderness, and comes upon several people, the head of the group being Granger.
12. Granger, Montag, and their acquaintances take action by remembering books of the past.
13. The city is destroyed.
14. Montag and his peers start a journey back to the city.  An allusion at the end predicts they will take action in forming the new society from their knowledge of books.  

Quote in Part One

“‘I’m going to do something,’ said Montag.  ‘I don’t even know what yet, but I’m going to do something big’” (Bradbury 62).  

Quote in Part Two

“‘I saw the way things were going, a long time back. I said nothing...but I did not speak and thus became guilty myself’” (Bradbury 78).  

Quote in Part Three

“One of them had to stop burning. The sun wouldn’t, certainly” (Bradbury 134).

Why is this Important to the understanding of the story?

Our theme is important in understanding the story because the society of Fahrenheit 451 is crumbling from the indifference of individuals in society toward each other, and also because books and learning from the past are not allowed; Montag, on the other hand, begins to see this, and many plot events show him attempting to learn about books and taking action to change society.  

How does this connect to modern-day society?

Our theme connects to modern-day society because in places like Gary, Indiana, there are a large quantity of crimes, which is evidence of a faltering society; Tommie Tatum, a cop and security guard (Devine), takes action by expressing care to the people, especially teenagers, in the town.  

Text to Text Connection

I'm reading "Beastly" by Alex Flinn and it's about a boy named Kyle Kingsbury. Kyle's got the looks and a famous news anchor for a dad. So when Kyle tells a weird girl named Kendra that he will take her to prom everyone knows he's just playing a mean joke. However after prom Kyle gets home to find Kendra in his bedroom.  She says "you're ugly now, on the inside, where it matters most" (pg 6). It's then that Kyle realizes that Kendra's a witch and she turns him into a beast. The new Kyle has fangs and claws and fur. Only a kiss from someone you love can break the curse and Kyle has a maximum of two years to break the spell.  Kyle moves away to Brooklyn with only his maid Magda and his tutor Will to keep him  company.  Kyle begins to feel hopeless  being  locked up in his house with only his books and  rose garden to keep him busy. He decides to change his name to Adrian  "which means  "dark one." That was me, the dark one" (pg 122). When a criminal breaks into Adrian's house he decides to let him go in exchange for his daughter. Adrian believes that Lindy, the criminal's daughter, will be the one to break his curse.

Sound familiar? That's because this story is a modern version of the fairy tale "Beauty and the Beast".     Both stories include people who are handsome on the outside and ugly on the inside. There's also the father that breaks into the building and his daughter is the one that replaces him, although Lindy isn't nearly as brave as Belle.   These fables  both show that true love is enough to overpower anything, even a witch's spell.  I also think that these stories also have a common theme of the father being to busy for his daughter and the daughter spending a lot of time by herself. Just like Beauty, Lindy enjoys spending most of her time reading books. Both the fairy tale and the book go together great.

"Beastly is also now a movie with Vanessa Hudgens and Alex Pettyfer. http://m.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi714315801/

Predictions about my book

       I just started reading The Kill Order by James Dashner. It's the prequel to the very popular The Maze Runner. This book has completely new characters in it because it takes place before Thomas goes to the Maze. For example there's Mark and Trina and Alec. All that's happened so far is that you meet the characters and an unknown Berg (which is basically like a hovercraft) comes into the area and starts shooting darts. I like that Dashner really introduces the characters and details about them, not just their name. On example is :" The older man was gruff, a hardened former soldier who rarely smiled" (talking about Alec).

      Based on what I've read so far plus the other books in the series I think that this book will show how everything got put in motion. I predict that it will show how WICKED got started, what their actual intention was and how bad the Flare was. I think it will also enlighten me on why Teresa and Thomas were at WICKED and what among other things made them the most special. I hope to learn more about the actual world rather than the Maze and the Scorch because James has already done a fantastic job at describing those places. I think the book will also in more depth describe how the Flare started and how people tried to cure it. The Kill Order might also go into a little detail about Jenson, who was given the name Rat Man, because in the last book he was older and this book only takes place 13 years before.

Most important line in my book

             I'm reading The Scorch Trials by James Dashner, which is the second book in The Maze Runner series. It picks up exactly where the book and movie left off. This book is a really intense book with a plethora of action. Personally I enjoy all the action that's happening in the book. I'm more motivated to read so I can find out what happens next. There's so many things happening at once and so many new characters introduced that it's hard to choose only one important line. Since I have to pick just one, the most important line in my book would probably have to be:

"Teresa Agnes. Group A, Subject A1.

The Betrayer." (Dashner 15)

 

                This line to me just sets the whole book in motion. Of course if you've read the first book your attention will immediately go to this line, but even if you haven't the bold font catches your eye almost instantaneously. The quote is towards the beginning of the book so I think its a great way to hook a reader into the book. I like that after this quote the book leaves you guessing. All you find out is this information and then you don't find what it means or why it's there until the end of the book. I really liked the fact that it was mysterious. The book moves on pretty quickly though, so you don't have much time to speculate over what it means. Honestly this line was one of the things that kept me reading. I wanted to find out what that line meant so I kept reading and by the time I found out what the line meant I couldn't stop reading because I was hooked to the book. I'm really excited they're turning it into a movie! http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/21/maze-runner-sequel-premiere_n_5857998.html